London, Oct 15 (ANI): Iran is reportedly considering a top-secret plan to deliberately cause a massive oil tanker spill at the entrance to the Persian Gulf in a bid to 'punish' the West for imposing sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme.

The plan, codenamed "Dirty Water" was first reported in the German news magazine Der Spiegel.

The idea, said to have been drawn up by the leader of Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, was to wreck or sabotage an oil tanker in the Straits of Hormuz, the seaway used by more than a third of the world's oil tankers to enter the Persian Gulf, the Independent reports.

According to details published by Der Spiegel, an oil spill would cause an environmental disaster in one of the busiest international seaways, and force at least the temporary and hugely costly closure of the Persian Gulf to shipping.

The magazine's report pointed out that an environmental clean-up would be possible only with technical support from Iran.

As a result, Western nations 'could be forced to relax sanctions against Iran or drop them altogether'. (ANI)